Smoking is an important factor that causes periodontitis, which manifests as alveolar bone injury and absorption, and has a high incidence and unfavorable treatment efficacy. Nicotine causes ischemia and inflammation of the periodontium and inhibits the mineralization of alveolar bones. Previous studies have revealed the anti‑tumor biological activities of catalpol, in addition to neuroprotection and anti‑inflammation. The present study therefore investigated the underlying protective mechanism of catalpol in alveolar bone injury...

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is characterized by the formation of bony spurs. Treatment of the resulting ankylosis, excessive bone formation and associated functional impairment, remain the primary therapeutic aims in research regarding this condition. Triptolide is the primary active component of the perennial vine Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f., and has previously been demonstrated to exert anti‑tumor activities including inhibition of cell growth and the induction of apoptosis, however, the effect of triptolide on osteoblasts remains to be elucidated...

A number of short noncoding microRNAs (miRs) have been demonstrated to be highly expressed in many kidney diseases such as renal cancer and lupus nephritis (LN); however, these results have not been extensively investigated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression and function of miR‑198 in LN based on the previous studies. miR‑198 expression level in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients was determined to determine its clinicopathological significance and effect on glomerular cell proliferation...

Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation is a primary pathological event in atherosclerosis (AS), and homocysteine (Hcy) is an independent risk factor for AS. However, the underlying mechanisms are still lagging. Studies have used the combination of methylation of promoters of multiple genes to diagnose tumors, thus the aim of the current study was to investigate the role of methylation status of several genes in VSMCs treated with Hcy. CpG islands were identified in the promoters of platelet‑derived growth factor (PDGF), p53, phosphatase and tensin homologue on chromosome 10 (PTEN) and mitofusin 2 (MFN2)...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of cobalt nanoparticles (CoNPs) on the proliferation and differentiation of human osteoblasts in vitro, and to investigate the molecular mechanisms via which CoNPs affect proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts. The MG‑63 human osteoblast cell line was treated with different concentrations of CoNPs for 12 to 48 h in vitro. At each time point, cell morphology was observed and an MTT assay was performed to assess cell viability. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (BGLAP), collagen I (COL I), osteoprotegerin (OPG) and receptor activator of nuclear factor κ‑B ligand mRNA expression levels, and ALP, BGLAP and COL protein expression levels, were assessed by reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting, respectively...

Ingestion of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles from products such as agricultural chemicals, processed food, and nutritional supplements is nearly unavoidable. The gastrointestinal tract serves as a critical interface between the body and the external environment, and is the site of essential nutrient absorption. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of ingesting the 30 nm TiO2 nanoparticles with an in vitro cell culture model of the small intestinal epithelium, and to determine how acute or chronic exposure to nano-TiO2 influences intestinal barrier function, reactive oxygen species generation, proinflammatory signaling, nutrient absorption (iron, zinc, fatty acids), and brush border membrane enzyme function (intestinal alkaline phosphatase)...

This study was designed to investigate the regulatory role of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) in the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cells under the hypothesis that the levels of the phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) mRNA and the phosphorylated Akt (pAkt) protein would be affected by the presence of different receptor ligand concentrations. SMMC-7721 hepatocellular carcinoma cells were cultured in the presence of different concentrations of either 15-deoxyprostaglandin J2 (15-d-PGJ2) or pioglitazone and experiments were conducted in order to determine cell growth changes and measure levels of PTEN mRNA and pAkt protein...

Tumorigenesis is often caused by somatic mutation or epigenetic changes in genes that regulate aspects of cell death, proliferation and survival. Although the functions of multiple tumor suppressor genes have been well studied in isolation, how these genes cooperate during the progression of a single tumor remains unclear in numerous cases. The present study used N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU), one of the most potent mutagenic nitrosourea compounds, to induce thymic lymphoma in C57BL/6J mice. Subsequently, the protein expression levels of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), transformation protein 53 and mutS homolog 2 (MSH2) were evaluated concomitantly in the thymus, liver, kidney and spleen of MNU-treated mice by western blotting...

Metabolic stress diminishes smooth muscle contractile strength by a poorly defined mechanism. To test the hypothesis that metabolic stress activates a compensatory cell signaling program to reversibly downregulate contraction, arterial rings and bladder muscle strips in vitro were deprived of O2 and glucose for 30 and 60 min ("starvation") to induce metabolic stress, and the phosphorylation status of proteins involved in regulation of contraction and metabolic stress were assessed in tissues under basal and stimulated conditions...

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the leading cause of inherited intellectual disability, with additional symptoms including attention deficit and hyperactivity, anxiety, impulsivity, and repetitive movements or actions. The majority of FXS cases are attributed to a CGG expansion that leads to transcriptional silencing and diminished expression of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). FMRP, an RNA binding protein, regulates the synthesis of dendritically-translated mRNAs by stalling ribosomal translation. Loss of FMRP leads to increased translation of some of these mRNAs, including the CNS-specific tyrosine phosphatase STEP (STriatal-Enriched protein tyrosine Phosphatase)...

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) undeniably have a central role in the development and progression of human cancers. Historically, however, PTPs have not been viewed as privileged drug targets, and progress on identifying potent, selective, and cell-active small molecule PTP inhibitors has suffered accordingly. This situation is rapidly changing, however, due to biochemical advances in the study of PTPs and recent small molecule screening campaigns, which have identified potent and mechanistically diverse lead structures...

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The number of children with nutritional rickets in Taiwan has increased over the last decade. The aim of this study was to present our experiences in the management of patients with this condition. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From 2011 to 2016, 10 children (3 boys and 7 girls) with nutritional rickets were enrolled in this study. Their clinical and biochemical data were analyzed. RESULTS: The median age of the 10 patients was 21 months (range, 12-25 months)...

Exome sequencing has readily enabled the discovery of the genetic mutations responsible for a wide range of diseases. This success has been particularly remarkable in the severe epilepsies and other neurodevelopmental diseases for which rare, often de novo, mutations play a significant role in disease risk. Despite significant progress, the high genetic heterogeneity of these disorders often requires large sample sizes to identify a critical mass of individuals with disease-causing mutations in a single gene...

Hormetic responses in soil ecosystem are increasingly reported recently. Soil enzymes are involved in almost all biochemical reactions, but insufficient investigations were conducted to define its hormetic responses. The objective of this study is to investigate the hormetic responses across soil particle-size fractions with cadmium (Cd) as a stressor and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) as a potential endpoint. Soils were treated by adding CdCl2·2.5H2O solution with 0, 0.003, 0.03, 0.3, 3.0 and 30.0mg·kg(-1) of Cd, respectively...

Phosphate-starved plants reduce phosphatidylcholine content presumably to provide an internal phosphate source while replacing membrane phospholipids by galactolipids, a process termed membrane lipid remodeling. However, whether the metabolic fate of released phosphocholine is a phosphate source remains elusive because primary phosphocholine phosphatases in vivo are unknown in seed plants. Here, we show that PECP1 and PS2 are the primary phosphocholine phosphatases in Arabidopsis and function redundantly under phosphate starvation...

Diabetes is one of high risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including atherosclerosis and hypertension. This study was conducted to elucidate whether and how thromboxane receptor (TPr) activation contributes to hypertension in diabetes. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured. The phosphorylated levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and Akt were monitored by western blot. Endothelial function was determined by organ bath. High glucose (HG) or thromboxane A2 mimetic U46619 significantly reduced the levels of p-eNOS and p-Akt in cultured HUVECs, which were reversed by inhibition TPr...

Biologics are the most rapidly growing class of therapeutics, but commonly suffer from low stability. Peroral administration of these therapeutics is an attractive delivery route; however, this route introduces unique physiological challenges that increase the susceptibility of proteins to lose function. Formulation of proteins into biomaterials, such as electrospun fibers, is one strategy to overcome these barriers, but such platforms need to be optimized to ensure protein stability and maintenance of bioactivity during the formulation process...

MicroRNA (miRNAs) emerges as key oncogene or tumor suppressor in a variety of cancers including pancreatic carcinoma. In this study, we detected the role of miR-132 in development and progression of pancreatic cancer and the underlying mechanism. First, the expression of miR-132 in pancreatic carcinoma and adjacent non-cancerous tissues were detected by qRT-PCR. Then, the role of miR-132 in biological function of pancreatic carcinoma cells was investigated. Our results identified that miR-132 was generally upregulated in pancreatic carcinoma, and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) was generally downregulated...

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a highly conserved acute-phase protein and extrahepatic produced SAA1/2 contributes to cutaneous inflammation. Prolonged systemic or topical treatment with glucocorticoids can provoke skin diseases such as steroid-induced acne. Glucocorticoids increase Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) expression, however, an inflammatory mediator linked to this side effect remains elusive. We report that TLR2 agonists in combination with dexamethasone substantially increase SAA expression and production in human keratinocytes and epithelial cells...